ned
and a young officer wearing an aide's uniform entered.

The secretary raised his head, and a lively expression of satisfaction
crossed his face.

"Oh! my dear Roland," said he; "you here at last! I am delighted to see
you, for three reasons. First, because I am wearying for you; second,
because the general is impatient for your return, and keeps up a
hullaballoo about it; and third, because you can help me to read this,
with which I have been struggling for the last ten minutes. But first of
all, kiss me."

And the secretary and the aide-de-camp embraced each other.

"Well," said the latter, "let us see this word that is troubling you so,
my dear Bourrienne!"

"Ah! my dear fellow, what writing! I get a white hair for every page I
decipher, and this is my third to-day! Here, read it if you can."

Roland took the sheet from the secretary, and fixing his eyes on the
spot indicated, read quite fluently: "Paragraph XI. The Nile, from
Assouan to a distance of twelve miles north of Cairo, flows in a single
stream"--"Well," said he, interrupting himself, "that's all plain
sailing. What did you mean? The general, on the contrary, took pains
when he wrote that."

"Go on, go on," said Bourrienne.

The young man resumed: "'From that point, which is called'--ah! Ah!"

"There you are! Now what do you say to that?"

Roland repeated: "'Which is called'--The devil! 'Which is called--'"

"Yes, 'Which is called'--after that?"

"What will you give me, Bourrienne," cried Roland, "if I guess it?"

"The first colonel's commission I find signed in blank."

"By my faith, no! I don't want to leave the general; I'd rather have a
good father than five hundred naughty children. I'll give you the three
words for nothing."

"What! are there three words there?"

"They don't look as if they were quite three, I admit. Now listen, and
make obeisance to me: 'From the point called Ventre della Vacca.'"

"Ha! Ventre de la Vache! Confound it! He's illegible enough in French,
but if he takes it into his head to go off in Italian, and that Corsican
patois to boot! I thought I only ran the risk of going crazy, but then
I should become stupid, too. Well, you've got it," and he read the whole
sentence consecutively: "'The Nile, from Assouan to a distance of twelve
miles north of Cairo, flows in a single stream; from that point, which
is called Ventre de la Vache, it forms the branches of the Rosetta and
the Damietta.' Thank you, Roland,"